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"So far this year in Milwaukee County, 15 infants have died in co-sleeping environments.Those 15 deaths represent the highest number in five years, with a low of nine deaths in 2010.In 11 of the 15 cases, families did not have a crib or a Pack 'n Play in the home, or the Pack 'n Play went unused. In six of the 15 deaths, the family had ongoing contact with child welfare.Four of the 15 investigations did note alcohol or drug use but no proof of intoxication as a contributing factor.It is a problem throughout the state.In an On Assignment report, WISN 12 News' Kathy Mykleby gets the heartbreaking story from a mother on the death of her baby on a night she held him in her arms as they fell to sleep together.He had blossomed into the picture of health after a touch-and-go start.\"It was hard getting pregnant with him,\" mother Natasha Rodefer said.He was born two months early.\"So the doctors call it a miracle,\" Rodefer said.He thrived after 10 days in the neonatal intensive care unit.With his parents named Tasha and Tommy, dad chose the name Tristan for their son and mom loved it.His grandparents and godparents and cousins could not get enough of him.Tragically, they did not get enough of Tristan in their lives.VIDEO: Mother talks about losing baby in co-sleeping incident\"He was a wonderful baby. I miss him dearly,\" Rodefer said.They had a crib up north where they lived. The grandparents had one, too, but on an overnight stay at his godmother's house in Waukesha, Tristan slept on a floor on a cushion.\"I remember like it was yesterday. He wouldn't sleep, wouldn't go down by himself. I ended up falling asleep with him,\" Rodefer said.\"Did Tristan sleep with you a lot?\" Mykleby asked.\"Not all the time, but yes. I can't lie, but he did,\" Rodefer said.She wanted to comfort Tristan, to be close to her son.\"It was around 4 a.m., and he was lifeless, his body was cold. I look back, and I guess I knew he was gone. We still tried to revive him, called 911, it was a very traumatic time,\" Rodefer said. \"He got rushed to the hospital, and he was pronounced dead. I had a lot of family support.\"\"Your baby wasn't crushed?\" Mykleby said.\"He was in my arm back up against my arm. He wasn't smothered,\" Rodefer said.A miracle birth ended with an inexplicable death after 46 days.The medical examiner concluded is death was consistent with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and co-sleeping. There were no signs of any physical injury.\"I didn't know any better. I mean, I didn't know,\" Rodefer said.No one knows when Tristan took his last breath.\"I felt like I was a bad mother. I felt like I did the wrong thing,\" Rodefer said. \"I wish I could have said goodbye.\"She has found a way, along with family and friends, to share thoughts about Tristan in a journal.VIDEO: Mother talks with Kathy Mykleby about son's deathShe resolved to tell this story about guilt and pain of parents who could not deal with it together, of a mom who struggled to cope with an impossible loss.It's been five years.\"I kind of gave myself a pep talk and told myself to keep it together,\" Rodefer said. \"I want to save another baby's life. (I) don't want this to happen to someone else.\"Rodefer said she stays involved with the Infant Death Center run out of Children's Hospital and is looking for work.She is expecting a baby in March and is excited, but anxious. But she is clear that she will not co-sleep with the new baby.That is advice Vivian Jackson, who works in the Infant Death Center, said every parent should heed.There is a proposal to make co-sleeping deaths a crime. Proposed legislation takes aim at deaths where there is some kind of impairment -- drugs or alcohol.As part of WISN 12 News' research, Mykleby spoke with the Kenosha district attorney, who has prosecuted two cases under existing state child neglect laws.\"Why did you decide to share your story?\" Mykleby asked Rodefer.\"If I could just help one person, just one person, make them stop sleeping with their babies,\" Rodefer said.\"You know, right after Tristan died, they had the police in and I had to reenact everything,\" Rodefer said.In the haze of mourning, weeping and blaming herself, strangers with an expertise reached out.\"How did you find the Children's Hospital center?\" Mykleby asked.\"They found me,\" Rodefer said.\"We send out information on grief and bereavement services through the Infant Death Center,\" Jackson said.Jackson runs the state-mandated program that also follows up with phone calls to parents wracked with loss. It tracks parents who have suffered the loss of a child for a year.\"I have families of all walks of life to be honest,\" Jackson said.She has the same feeling every time.\"Heartbroken we have to do it again, that is one of things we offer, we offer support to those families,\" Jackson said.She handles 130 cases a year and notes co-sleeping is a fraction of infant deaths from all causes.\"You know, Kathy, I have to tell you the common thread is end result. An infant has died and that is the hard part so those families because of that situation have a commonality,\" Jackson said.Still, co-sleeping has been making headlines in Milwaukee.\"Everybody is (at a) loss on this subject, why it keeps happening. My opinion wouldn't be to throw women in jail because I see what I went through. I don't know if it would make the situation better or worse,\" Rodefer said.Rodefer and Jackson have become a team involved in memorials and support groups, although they do differ on the prospect of making co-sleeping in some extreme cases a crime.\"I think you should be (prosecuted) if you are not in the right frame of mind or drinking, using drugs. I think you should be persecuted and prosecuted,\" Rodefer said.\"I am totally opposed to prosecuting a family for an infant death. I think the message that they have in the legislation it almost tells families if you are not drinking, if you are not under the influence, that it is OK to sleep with your child or infant, and that is not the case,\" Jackson said.Jackson said substance abuse or use is rare in infant deaths.The Children's Health Alliance said the other key to safe sleeping is keeping your baby's environment smoke-free. It notes that even second-hand smoke can alter your baby's normal breathing pattern."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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